Are depth in gameplay and a mass audience really irreconcilable? We spoke to the producers, game director, narrative designer, art director and sound director. Read here why in Human Revolution the future shines golden.

4Players: Lately many developers seem to be producing games that are maximally simplified for the masses. Was it a difficult decision to develop a game with such depth?

Jean-Francois Dugas, Game Director: That was pretty much the first line I wrote down (at the beginning of development- Editor's note): How can we succeed in capturing the essence, depth and feel of a Deus Ex game, and simultaneously appeal to a modern audience? To me the original's depth was terribly important. I didn’t want to just make an action game that lacks the foundations of a Deus Ex game. So we tried to isolate which key elements made Deus Ex special and build our game on those pillars. Of course it also had to simply be impressive and easily accessible. However I didn’t want to compromise when it came to content.

David Anfossi, Producer: We’ve always kept in mind how much the fans of the original installment love its complexity. To be fair, we also wanted to reach players that aren’t yet familiar with Deus Ex. To reconcile these both aspects without having to compromise was the real challenge.

4Players: How is that accomplished?

Anfossi: In two ways. First of all you need a strong lead character that immediately appeals to the casual gamer: You have to want to play this cool guy, you have to want to be like him. We can have complexity throughout and maintain RPG elements that develop skills and weapons- but it has to look spectacular. That’s why the special abilities, which are obtained through Augmentations, are shown in over the shoulder view. Merely adjusting off-screen statistics whenever your character alters just isn’t that sexy. Still, it is quite possible to appeal to both types of gamers.

Dugas: Above all it comes down to how the range of possibilities is presented to the player. Will he allocate an experience point here so it has an effect over there, and will he then get tangled up in a submenu of a submenu… Frankly this way he actually loses options, because they aren’t presented clearly to him. The first Deus Ex is a good example: The game never clearly told you that you had gained experience points. You’d possibly not thought about them for a while and then at some point found yourself with a pile of experience points. It’s not like we have curtailed experience points or augmentations. We’re just presenting them more clearly.

4Players: How are experience points gained?

Dugas: They are awarded for successful missions, discovering secret areas, killing enemies, but also for hiding from and sparing enemies- you get EXP for anything that you accomplish successfully. You can buy biomechanical body parts in Clinics, however not all associated abilities are immediately available to you. The abilities are unlocked in exchange for experience points. You won’t have to return to a clinic for this; you can upgrade your abilities while on the road.

4Players: How many body parts can be replaced with artificial ones, and to what extent can these be upgraded?

Dugas: The numbers aren’t final yet, but at the moment the total of the Augmentations and Upgrades is about 50.

4Players: The demonstrated scenes are a couple of hours into the game. How long would you say is Deus Ex 3?

Dugas: I’d say you’ll need about 17-25 hours when you just follow the main story. With side missions and exploration it might last well over 30 hours. At the start we were planning some 12-15 hours. I have no clue as to where we miscalculated, but we ended up with more than we set out for. (laughs)

4Players: To what extent is Human Revolution a linear game, and where is it open?

Dugas: It is linear in the sense that you unravel a conspiracy bit by bit, by discovering a plan within a plan within a plan. It is open in the way and method one tackles obstacles. And the results of certain situations may well have consequences at a later time. It’s difficult to show in the demonstration, but even when you have a specific goal you can still move freely throughout the city.

For instance in Detroit, one of the area’s in the demonstration, it is possible to achieve a goal by simply exploring the area. One of Adam’s contacts might inquire what he’s been up to, and he wouldn’t know. But as soon as he finds out the mission goal he’ll get it and the objective is immediately achieved. We don’t want you to not be able to do certain actions simply because you didn’t meet a specific condition.

4Players: Will you ever revisit places you’ve already been to?

Dugas: You’ll be returning to Sarif Industries, the company Adam works for, a number of times. The folks there will react to what he’s been doing since his last departure. We want you to get to know the people there. And without giving anything away: You’ll also pick up that something is up with Adam’s boss.

4Players: How close was the demonstration to the actual game? Is the exact mission in the game itself?

Jonathan Jacques-Belletete, Art designer: Oh, yes. And there’s a million things there we could have shown you if we hadn’t been restricted by the presentation time. Especially in the second part, in the docks, the presentation rushes from one element to the other, so we could show as many different aspects as possible. On top of that there’s so many ways you can go there. For example there’s a sewage system underneath the docks that takes you into the warehouse. And whereas we burst though the roof of the warehouse, you could have also hacked into the surveillance cameras and sentry robots, or break through other walls. Same for the urban district from the first bit: You could have talked to passersby and explore buildings.

4Players: You can go through entire buildings?

Jacques-Belletete: You can’t enter every building, but there’s a number in which you can. In these you can enter apartments, receive side missions, or sneak into an apartment to snatch something or other.

4Players: There’s supposedly a ‘social component’, but in the demo this was only briefly touched upon. Can you elaborate?

Anfossi: Sure. You can interact with every character in the game. On different levels, of course; important information or side missions can only be obtained from main characters. Less important characters will more likely give an impression of the world, of the tensions between people with biomechanical augmentations and those without. They might for instance inquire about Adam’s implants, and if you take aim at someone they might run off scared.

4Players: Might they call the police?

Anfossi: They might. If the police catch Adam with a drawn weapon it might not end well for him. And even when Adam is welcome in a certain area, the people there might raise the alarm if he wreaks havoc. Every action has consequences.

4Players: Do the decisions you make during the game influence which orders you accept and where the missions take place?

Anfossi: There’s two aspects to that. An example: In the first Deus Ex there was this scene where you were asked what you were up to in the ladies’ restroom, in case you actually had been rummaging around there. Exactly these kinds of references are throughout the game, and that’s the first aspect. The second aspect of the consequence is that one can for instance either spare or kill a key character. This character will later on either help Jensen, or won’t, respectively.

Irate_Iguana

11th Jun 2010, 22:12

4Players: How does the dialog system in Deus Ex 3 work?

Anfossi: It’s a “social battle”. You’ve got several options and you need to correctly asses the character with whom Adam is speaking. In the end each answer consists of three possibilities: either you are successful and you receive the answer or item you were looking for, or you are less-successful and you can’t trust the answer you get or you fail and have to live with the consequences.

4Players: Do the characters you talk to always respond the same way or could the conversation turn out completely different in a second playthrough?

Anfossi: They always respond differently. For the dialog shown in the presentation, which lasted about five minutes, we had to record about 22 minutes. The reason for that is the branched dialog tree. The second time the conversation could start with a different opening which would bring you into a different flow chart and result in different dialog options.

4Players: That sounds good!

Anfossi: Oh, yes! It’s crazy (to do something like that –Editor’s Note), but it is definitely a good thing.

4Players: A question about the beginning of Human Revolution: when you wanted to make a new Deus Ex game did you carefully consider how you could come close to the first one? Or what were the initial considerations?

Dugas: First of all, we wanted to capture the feeling of the original for today’s gamers- many of whom might not even know the original. But we didn’t immediately start developing a concept. First we told ourselves: “You know what? In the first week we’re going to play both predecessors.” We wanted to analyze what the key elements of a Deus Ex game were. We also saw movies, read books – about Cyberpunk, likely scenarios for the future and Transhumanism. Then we started thinking about Deus Ex 3 – what we had to keep and how we could have Deus Ex turn over a new leaf. It’s very important for us that it feels like a Deus Ex game and a new game at the same time.

Ilves

11th Jun 2010, 22:19

4Players: How does the narrative of a game take shape, really? How do you contribute as a writer to how the story is told in the levels? How closely do writer and designer work together?

Mary DeMarle, Narrative Designer: With this project I finally found the right balance. (laughs) When I was hired I immediately outlined the story and the protagonists, and appointed others to write parts of the background story. So we had a plot, now to make a game out of it. So we – the game designer, lead level designer, other level designer, art designer, a number of programmers and myself- deliberated for three months in day long sessions on how we wanted to translate the story into the game.

4Players: Design-wise the first Deus Ex consisted mostly of shades of gray…

Jacques-Belletete: Gray and blue, yeah!

4Players: Exactly. This pronounced art direction is new for the series. Is there still something that you took over from the first Deus Ex?

Jacques-Belletete: The shades! (laughs) No, what was so memorable about the first part was – of course everything was memorable- but most memorable was the atmosphere. And that’s not just about the visuals, but about the music, the locales and so on. But even for its day it was not a graphically overwhelming game. And yet they made it into something special. I can’t pin it on any specifics, and that’s not the point anyway. What is the point that regardless of which artistic accents I put in Human Revolution, it had to be something extraordinary once again.

In the first Deus Ex the lion share of the art direction went into Cyberpunk archetypes; it took place mostly at nighttime, it’s dystopian, there’s a lot of metal, the color scheme is generally neutral, neon lights and so on. Naturally it was clear to us that we had to bring back these archetypes- the clutter, the smoke, the mist, light and darkness, humidity. Maybe our game isn’t that blue.

Irate_Iguana

11th Jun 2010, 22:20

4Players: Absolutely not!

Jacques-Belletete: (laughs) There’s blue already! Basically we wanted players to think about black and gold whenever they thought about Deus Ex 3. It’s our signature – of course there will be lots of other colors.

4 Players: That’s very brave. Gold can be overwhelming. Did you ever fear this?

Jacques-Belletete: A long time ago. Just because you have a creative idea doesn’t mean that you know how to properly implement it. You may have a gut feeling but don’t know how to use it. When we first started painting the environment gold and black it didn’t work at all! Only when we started leaving the objects relatively neutral and use the lighting to bring out the gold color did it seem to work. Even our main character, Adam, was often revised.

4Players: How did you initially design him?

Jacques-Belletete: He was always Adam; we had, from the very beginning, a very clear idea who he should be. We didn’t want a muscle-bound Space Marine with a shaved head. A few of those have personality – Marcus Phoenix for example is a very very good character – however many other games have completely uninteresting characters. We wanted a character who, although very physically fit, made an impression through his charisma. Our guide was that we wanted someone who could be a bad ass but afterwards could go home and read a good book.

At first we had to deal with three conditions: Jean-Francois (Game Director –Editor’s Note) wanted that he looked like he could fight his way through enemy territory. At the same time he should be able to go to an expensive hotel and talk to people like he was James Bond. Finally he wanted that Adam’s artificial arms were visible all the time. That was not a puzzle with an easy solution. If you want to see his arms all the time you can only dress him in vests and suits are out of the question. Adam would have always looked like a biker or bodybuilder and that wouldn’t have worked. It was difficult to create an outfit he could wear to a casino.

At some point one of my concept artists made the suggestion to simply give him two outfits. The settings in the game are clearly divided between urban area and enemy territory. So we gave Adam a trenchcoat to blend in with a crowd. When he enters his helicopter to infiltrate a guarded territory he’ll take it off.

There are some references to the renaissance in Adam’s face, which reinforces the connection between the two eras. His face is also iconic: if you see him as a black outline from the side you can immediately recognize him thanks to his pointy beard and hair. Just like how you identify three green lights with Sam Fisher.

4Players: When did you start looking for a voice for Adam Jensen?

Steve Szczepkowski, Audio Lead: We said immediately after pre-production: We don’t know how long the search for the correct actor will take, so let’s just get started. In the end it didn’t actually take that long, because when Mary and I heard the voice of one of the actors (Elias Toufexis-Editor’s Note) we just smiled and immediately said: That’s the one!

4Players: I had a huge grin on my face when I heard Adam. JC’s voice was very memorable and Adam’s sounds a lot like it.

Szczepkowski: That was something I had in the back of my mind; I knew how JC sounded. Even if we didn’t want to create a copy of him it should at least be the same type of voice.

4Players: Do the voice actors influence the development of the game in any way? With a television series an actor might know his character so well that he can make suggestions on how to further develop the characters. Does something like this exist in the game industry?

Szczepkowski: I can’t speak for other games. In our case I’ve got the feeling that this is correct. I know that some of the voice actors have made suggestions towards the authors. Often they would ask for example: “Would he really say that? Would he really react like that?” Then we sit down and reflect and if it is a fair objection we’ll rewrite the scene. This gives us alternatives from which we can choose the one that fits best. It’s really nice to see that the actors invest so much in the game instead of just waiting for their next paycheck.

4Players: Modern games have a lot of characters without any personality – so that every player can possibly project a lot of himself onto the character. However is that really so important in comparison to a clearly defined character?

DeMarle: I think that’s a fine line. I believe that precisely those games where much revolves around the story a large part of the attraction stems from being another person. That’s what gives clearly defined characters their right to exist. In the game that we’re making we definitely need those kinds of characters. Even when we have a strong Adam Jensen much of his character stems from his past. So there is still plenty of room to place yourself in his shoes and mold him to how you imagine him.

I have, for example, a clearly defined image of Adam Jensen. Then I played a very early version of the game and Adam still had a choice on whether to kill or stun an opponent. I’ve also crept with him behind a guard and unleashed a lethal take-down and all I could think was: “Oh, my god! Adam Jensen would never do that!” (laughs). But then I realized that he could certainly do something like that. That made me realize that I had to show him as being capable of doing that or just letting it go.

4Players: Are there, apart from the voice, other connections to the preceding games?

Szczepkowski: (restrained laughter) Yes.

4players: Which?

Szczepkowski: Of course I can’t spoil them all. However there are a lot of tributes in the game. It could happen that you discover certain familiar characters. We’ll also incorporate the title song. I don’t know where exactly! (laughs) But I think I would disappoint the fans of the previous game if I could not find a place to put it.

4Players: Who writes the soundtrack for Human Revolution?

Szczepkowski: A composer from Montreal, Michael McCann. He has written music for Splinter Cell: Double Agent and many movies. It was really hard for us to decide between the final three candidates for the job. They all had a very particular style. In the end I was happy to go with my gut and gave my preference to McCann. The deciding factor was that he was local. You can’t get better than that! He comes to the studio to play the latest version. He can see how his music fits and says: “I’m going to make some adjustments, it doesn’t quite fit.”

Normally the composer misses this close connection with the game: they work on a project for six months and then switch to the next, etc. I wanted someone who would invest time and effort because I knew it would be a great challenge and there are high expectations connected to this. And it has really paid off because he knows exactly which elements were typical for the first DX and managed to update them.

Irate_Iguana

11th Jun 2010, 22:25

That should be all of it. They link to a four page preview, but it doesn't really say anything new and we're certainly not going to translate that tonight.

ZakKa89

11th Jun 2010, 22:31

thanks for translating.

Ilves

11th Jun 2010, 22:33

Iguana, high five! I'm pooped. :p

Edit: Special thanks to all the fine peeps on the forum who've dedicated their time & effort to scan & transcribe the latest magazine articles! :cheek:

Irate_Iguana

11th Jun 2010, 22:36

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l0696uKoAy1qzoh7no1_500.jpg

mad_red

11th Jun 2010, 22:38

Thanks, this is insightful.

"Frankly this way he actually loses options, because they aren’t presented clearly to him."

Ah yes, I know a Haiku about this

Hidden options are lost.
Eliminate your hidden options,
You are free.

"Then I played a very early version of the game and Adam still had a choice on whether to kill or stun an opponent."

I think he misspoke here right? Last I heard there were lots of weapons including non-lethal ones.

Blade_hunter

11th Jun 2010, 22:43

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l0696uKoAy1qzoh7no1_500.jpg

Thanks for the translation, this article is too "vague"

but at least I can see that the aug may have 2 - 4 upgrades depending on the branch we want to invest

dropthesky

11th Jun 2010, 22:44

thanks, I know it's their job to make us feel secure having the game in their hands, but it's kind of working. They say all the right things. They really do seem to understand what makes a good DX game. Hopefully it's not just lip service.

EDIT: Didn't agree with the exp points being hidden at all though. You went somewhere secret. You heard the chime, and you knew you were getting exp. So I'm not sure exactly what he's talking about here.

Graeme

11th Jun 2010, 22:48

BIG THANKS TO THE TRANSLATORS!

4Players: To what extent is Human Revolution a linear game, and where is it open?

Dugas: It is linear in the sense that you unravel a conspiracy bit by bit, by discovering a plan within a plan within a plan. It is open in the way and method one tackles obstacles. And the results of certain situations may well have consequences at a later time.

Sounds promising. Non-linear level design (obviously) and non-linear choices that affect the main plot...still not sure whether or not they will try to make you choose who you work for and so on, which doesn't really work since the game is ultimately linear. I like the idea of the side-plots and choices affecting you along the way though...that is important. Even if it doesn't affect the game that much, it creates an immersive atmosphere.

For instance in Detroit, one of the area’s in the demonstration, it is possible to achieve a goal by simply exploring the area. One of Adam’s contacts might inquire what he’s been up to, and he wouldn’t know. But as soon as he finds out the mission goal he’ll get it and the objective is immediately achieved. We don’t want you to not be able to do certain actions simply because you didn’t meet a specific condition.

Translation is a bit confusing here but I think we can deduce that places like Detroit (probably Shanghai too) and so on, are going to be hub maps like Hell's Kitchen, Paris and Hong Kong. I remember something that grasped me while playing DX for the first time was that I started off doing a mission...finished it and was expecting the game to stop, fade out and have a 'mission complete' screen come up, then load the next level. But instead I went back to HQ and went on the next mission myself by going to the boat...and then, after Battery Park the game opened up into a hub-type map. Then you did the mole people thing to get to the jet...and it was a very gripping balance of 'missions' and hub atmosphere. Invisible War felt like it was all hubs (very crowded and ugly hubs might I add). I hope we have a balance in DX:HR that feels real...not just hopping from hub to hub and then to end of the game. The original game was completely unpredictable in where it was going...NY, NY, leave NY, to HK, back to NY, shipyard, Paris, x51, blahblahblah.

4Players: Will you ever revisit places you’ve already been to?

Dugas: You’ll be returning to Sarif Industries, the company Adam works for, a number of times. The folks there will react to what he’s been doing since his last departure. We want you to get to know the people there. And without giving anything away: You’ll also pick up that something is up with Adam’s boss.

Good, but I hope they don't think that this alone will create the immersiveness. Invisible War tried to do the same thing remember but it didn't feel the same at all. Just going back to the same maps is not guaranteed to recreate the DX experience.

4Players: You can go through entire buildings?

Jacques-Belletete: You can’t enter every building, but there’s a number in which you can. In these you can enter apartments, receive side missions, or sneak into an apartment to snatch something or other.

That's fine. Although the way they talk about receiving side missions, I can just see this getting butchered like it regularly is in all linear video games with 'side quests'. How? They make it so damn obvious that you're getting a side-quest...they might as well have a neon side over their head. Even when I replay DX now, I'm going through Hell's Kitchen: "What I'm tellin' you girl!"...'You said I didn't have to. Make Janie do it.'...it doesn't feel like I'm getting a side mission...it just feels like a real environment.

How to do that? Not sure exactly, two things I think are important:
-unpredictable rewards are more realistic (Sandra didn't tell you she would give the password to Smuggler's if you saved her, nor did you know you'd get the killphrase if you got Jaime to stay, etc. etc.)
-don't put our side-missions in our faces console-style...ruins the real-environment feel IMHO

4Players: Might they call the police?

Anfossi: They might. If the police catch Adam with a drawn weapon it might not end well for him. And even when Adam is welcome in a certain area, the people there might raise the alarm if he wreaks havoc. Every action has consequences.

Fine. Still feels like this connotes a bit too much hub-based mapping though.

4Players: Do the decisions you make during the game influence which orders you accept and where the missions take place?

Anfossi: There’s two aspects to that. An example: In the first Deus Ex there was this scene where you were asked what you were up to in the ladies’ restroom, in case you actually had been rummaging around there. Exactly these kinds of references are throughout the game, and that’s the first aspect. The second aspect of the consequence is that one can for instance either spare or kill a key character. This character will later on either help Jensen, or won’t, respectively.

Firstly, it is somewhat reassuring to hear that these guys know enough to know about the ladies restroom thing. Very good news that they understand that that is part of the immersive atmosphere thing. As for the second part...I guess that's good too, although subtlety is key...think about killing Maggie Chow, Anna (in the jet), your bro dying or not and so on...these weren't blatant: KILL OR NOT KILL, choices. And therefore, they felt more realistic and immersive when, if you did kill one them, they didn't appear later and the game adapted as such.

dropthesky

11th Jun 2010, 22:57

That's fine. Although the way they talk about receiving side missions, I can just see this getting butchered like it regularly is in all linear video games with 'side quests'. How? They make it so damn obvious that you're getting a side-quest...they might as well have a neon side over their head. Even when I replay DX now, I'm going through Hell's Kitchen: "What I'm tellin' you girl!"...'You said I didn't have to. Make Janie do it.'...it doesn't feel like I'm getting a side mission...it just feels like a real environment.

Not too sure about that. When you talk to him and accept the task you get the secondary objective. Pretty blatant I think.

Firstly, it is somewhat reassuring to hear that these guys know enough to know about the ladies restroom thing. Very good news that they understand that that is part of the immersive atmosphere thing. As for the second part...I guess that's good too, although subtlety is key...think about killing Maggie Chow, Anna (in the jet), your bro dying or not and so on...these weren't blatant: KILL OR NOT KILL, choices. And therefore, they felt more realistic and immersive when, if you did kill one them, they didn't appear later and the game adapted as such.

This made me think about the NSF leader, after I left him alive and was rewarded/reprimanded by diffrent parties, I knew I was playing something special. Also when you escape from UNATCO and can kill Manderley, you have the conversation and when it's done he just stands there looking at you. I pulled out my pistol and shot him right between the eyes. After I thought, "...Wow...I just killed Manderley."

Ilves

11th Jun 2010, 22:59

EDIT: Didn't agree with the exp points being hidden at all though. You went somewhere secret. You heard the chime, and you knew you were getting exp. So I'm not sure exactly what he's talking about here.

I was wondering about that myself. :scratch:

Translation is a bit confusing here...

To be honest that bit was very confusing to me. I think the gist is that you may unwittingly achieve a goal not yet disclosed to you, and are only rewarded EXP for it after an NPC presents you with the mission. That's all I could make of it.

Graeme

11th Jun 2010, 23:04

Not too sure about that. When you talk to him and accept the task you get the secondary objective. Pretty blatant I think.

I may be romanticizing the past a bit because at the time, I didn't really know that there was such a thing as side-quests or side-missions. Still, even though you got a secondary objective mission...it wasn't all that 'in-your-face'. Compare that to some games where you have a person standing somewhere waiting for you to go talk to them so they can give you a side-mission for some $ or something...the Renton example (and the 'Ton hostage situation) just felt like it was more realistic.

Graeme

11th Jun 2010, 23:08

I was wondering about that myself. :scratch:

To be honest that bit was very confusing to me. I think the gist is that you may unwittingly achieve a goal not yet disclosed to you, and are only rewarded EXP for it after an NPC presents you with the mission. That's all I could make of it.

I thought it was saying that, suppose you were supposed to get a mission from guy in the north corner of the map before going to the south corner of the map...but you go the south corner of the map right away and see the person you were supposed to get the mission to talk to, it will just adapt and you can just continue talking to the guy for the next part of the mission (without having to go back to get the mission to talk to the guy you already found anyway). Does that make sense?

EDIT: Yeah you said the same thing basically. Although I don't think it matters about EXP...I think the idea is that they don't want you to have to backtrack if you stumble across your would-be objective by accident.

Graeme

11th Jun 2010, 23:11

As for the exp points not being noticed:

He was just saying that although it chimes, you might not really be paying attention to how many you accumulate and you can forget about upgrading your skills. I'll be honest - it has happened to me.

Graeme

11th Jun 2010, 23:13

4Players: How does the dialog system in Deus Ex 3 work?

Anfossi: It’s a “social battle”. You’ve got several options and you need to correctly asses the character with whom Adam is speaking. In the end each answer consists of three possibilities: either you are successful and you receive the answer or item you were looking for, or you are less-successful and you can’t trust the answer you get or you fail and have to live with the consequences.

They seem keen about this social thing and it sounds promising. I hope it's not like Oblivion where NPCs make the same angry emotion every time...that was kind of lame.

4Players: A question about the beginning of Human Revolution: when you wanted to make a new Deus Ex game did you carefully consider how you could come close to the first one? Or what were the initial considerations?

Dugas: First of all, we wanted to capture the feeling of the original for today’s gamers- many of whom might not even know the original. But we didn’t immediately start developing a concept. First we told ourselves: “You know what? In the first week we’re going to play both predecessors.” We wanted to analyze what the key elements of a Deus Ex game were. We also saw movies, read books – about Cyberpunk, likely scenarios for the future and Transhumanism. Then we started thinking about Deus Ex 3 – what we had to keep and how we could have Deus Ex turn over a new leaf. It’s very important for us that it feels like a Deus Ex game and a new game at the same time.

Yes. Very reassuring. Sounds like they've done their research at least (most importantly on the games).

SageSavage

11th Jun 2010, 23:19

To be honest that bit was very confusing to me. I think the gist is that you may unwittingly achieve a goal not yet disclosed to you, and are only rewarded EXP for it after an NPC presents you with the mission. That's all I could make of it.

What he meant was that it is possible that when you freeroam the city, you can encounter (for example) a person that later in the storyline of the game becomes a mission target. In case you've killed that person (for example) the person who gives you the mission or Adam would realize that you've already finished that mission and the game would move on. It's about non-linearity.

El_Bel

11th Jun 2010, 23:28

Iguana, high five! I'm pooped. :p

Edit: Special thanks to all the fine peeps on the forum who've dedicated their time & effort to scan & transcribe the latest magazine articles! :cheek:

You are just like one of my friends, always kissing everyone that makes her happy!

Sotsiak

12th Jun 2010, 07:03

I may be romanticizing the past a bit because at the time, I didn't really know that there was such a thing as side-quests or side-missions. Still, even though you got a secondary objective mission...it wasn't all that 'in-your-face'. Compare that to some games where you have a person standing somewhere waiting for you to go talk to them so they can give you a side-mission for some $ or something...the Renton example (and the 'Ton hostage situation) just felt like it was more realistic.

Yup, I totally agree with you! Even at the first time I played Deus ex, I never, never, looked at my goals. I was playing so immersively that I just made my own goals from the conversations etc. Sometimes I even made up some new goals although I didn't get a reward.

For example Renton says that Sandra is missing, so who cares if it is a goal or not. I searched for her in every street corner and so I found her before I even go to the underworld bar and meet her friend.

Righto

12th Jun 2010, 07:30

EDIT: Didn't agree with the exp points being hidden at all though. You went somewhere secret. You heard the chime, and you knew you were getting exp. So I'm not sure exactly what he's talking about here.

Pretty sure what they mean is DX kind of says "contgratulations, here's some bonus points, you know, for experience", and doesn't give you much indication of what they're for or how to use them. Plus, the "Skills" screen doesn't necessarily correlate to "Experience Points" for someone who's not familiar with that type of mechanic.

As an example, a simple way they might try solving this is by having your available XP displayed on the HUD at all times (or contextually, however they're handling it), along with an icon next to it indicating what button to press to bring up the augs screen where you do your upgrading.

rokstrombo

12th Jun 2010, 11:03

Thanks a lot for the translations guys!

CHT

12th Jun 2010, 11:14

As much as I hate 4Players.de for their "we-must-be-different-than-other-mags" attitude in reviews, they pretty much nail every interview they make.

Good questions and good, reassuring answers.

I hate to wait until 2011... :(

Hiver

12th Jun 2010, 11:26

Thanks for the translating all of this.

AaronJ

12th Jun 2010, 13:41

4Players: Are there, apart from the voice, other connections to the preceding games?

Szczepkowski: (restrained laughter) Yes.

4players: Which?

Szczepkowski: Of course I can’t spoil them all. However there are a lot of tributes in the game. It could happen that you discover certain familiar characters. We’ll also incorporate the title song. I don’t know where exactly! (laughs) But I think I would disappoint the fans of the previous game if I could not find a place to put it.

That's what he reduces the connection to DX1 to? A lot of tributes. That's what I was afraid of.

Pinky_Powers

12th Jun 2010, 15:13

That's what he reduces the connection to DX1 to? A lot of tributes. That's what I was afraid of.

Character wise, that's all there should be, mate. Anything more than that and you stray into an ugly realm of constant self-reference and repetition. This is a new story (or an old one, depending on how you look at it), and should have new characters.

But tributes are always nice. :D

AaronJ

12th Jun 2010, 16:04

Character wise, that's all there should be, mate. Anything more than that and you stray into an ugly realm of constant self-reference and repetition. This is a new story (or an old one, depending on how you look at it), and should have new characters.

But tributes are always nice. :D

I disagree. This prequel should be a new entry in the Deus Ex series, taking place earlier in continuity. Little tributes like "Hey look it's Tracer Tong's dad! It's Anna Navarre's sister!" isn't a prequel. It's making a buck off the name "Deus Ex".

Pinky_Powers

12th Jun 2010, 16:33

I disagree. This prequel should be a new entry in the Deus Ex series, taking place earlier in continuity. Little tributes like "Hey look it's Tracer Tong's dad! It's Anna Navarre's sister!" isn't a prequel. It's making a buck off the name "Deus Ex".

I think you're very, very wrong.

The prequel is so far in the past that it would be silly to assume very many of the characters from Deus Ex are even involved in any of the big movements of the time. If you look at the careers of real movers-and-shakers, most of them spend a great deal of their life in obscurity until suddenly there right in the middle of world events.

It's the organizations and ideologies that are eternally at play here, not the individual characters. So long as they keep those alive, I don't need any one character to be front-and-center in every moment in history.

It's the little tributes that will really flesh the whole thing out for me.

AaronJ

12th Jun 2010, 21:37

I think you're very, very wrong.

The prequel is so far in the past that it would be silly to assume very many of the characters from Deus Ex are even involved in any of the big movements of the time. If you look at the careers of real movers-and-shakers, most of them spend a great deal of their life in obscurity until suddenly there right in the middle of world events.

It's the organizations and ideologies that are eternally at play here, not the individual characters. So long as they keep those alive, I don't need any one character to be front-and-center in every moment in history.

It's the little tributes that will really flesh the whole thing out for me.

They should be there, sure, but they don't have to be central to the plot. The expanded world sense that you have in DX- and that you have in HR, if the reviewers are to be believed- allows for plenty of rich side characters and stories. Which is really what Dowd and DuClare were anyway.

ChrisVCB

12th Jun 2010, 21:59

tyvm for the effort put into translating it. Very interesting article, talking about artistic direction and stuff that i've not seen really covered in other interviews.

AaronJ

13th Jun 2010, 12:56

They should be there, sure, but they don't have to be central to the plot. The expanded world sense that you have in DX- and that you have in HR, if the reviewers are to be believed- allows for plenty of rich side characters and stories. Which is really what Dowd and DuClare were anyway.

So while this is a prequel, it doesn't have to involve the events leading to the first game.

Ilves

13th Jun 2010, 13:45

I think there's a slight overreaction here on the tributes quote.

4Players: Are there [...] other connections to the preceding games?

Szczepkowski: (restrained laughter) Yes.

4players: Which?

Szczepkowski: Of course I can’t spoil them all. However there are a lot of tributes in the game.

You can't really draw any conclusions from the above on how much the HR and DX universe are continuous. This guy's clearly dodging the question by mentioning small references. We know the game will include the formation of UNATCO. There's no way an event as significant as that can be preceded by mere 'tributes'.

We all have a general sense of what these characters are all doing in 2027, and I would love to hear about each and every one. But Jensen's path does not necessarily have to cross with each one of these people in any serious way. Remember, Walton Simons is a bad guy. Do you really want to see him and know you can't do anything to stop him? Know that the game will not allow you to kill him, or it would break continuity? The same for Bob Page. You can't have that final confrontation with, because he needs to live in order for Deus Ex to happen.

But tributes to all of these people would be awesome.

IOOI

14th Jun 2010, 17:30

Thanks bros. Nice work. :thumb:

Hammich

14th Sep 2010, 03:26

Maybe have mentions of Walton Simons as an enigmatic (psychopath) young up-and-coming in the business world (and beyond the players reach). Everett and Beth DuClare could concievably have roles if Jensen has dealings with the Illuminati, secret organisations are meant to be quite close-knit and for someone to be at the head of one must require decades of commitment. Infiltrating an Illuminati building or eavesdropping on muttered conversations could reveal hushed mentions of the 'Echelon' project and perhaps even (though unlikely as it may not be plot-relevant) a chance encounter with a prototype of Echelon I.

Many major factors in the plot of Deus Ex 1 were the emerging results of plans in the making for years or decades from different organisations colliding and J.C.'s story is how he happened to be unleashed at the precisely correct time to be in a position to turn the tide whichever way he chooses.

Therefore tributaries or mentions of early developments of things that will come to fruition in Deus Ex don't seem like cheap fanservice to me. Just so long as they don't have everett or duclare.etc in canned prominent roles too senior in the organisations they are in or have the characters the same as they appeared in Deus Ex stuffed into shoes too small for them.

Btw, nice interview, thanks for translating. Put a few of my doubts to rest :)

Maybe have mentions of Walton Simons as an enigmatic (psychopath) young up-and-coming in the business world (and beyond the players reach). Everett and Beth DuClare could concievably have roles if Jensen has dealings with the Illuminati, secret organisations are meant to be quite close-knit and for someone to be at the head of one must require decades of commitment. Infiltrating an Illuminati building or eavesdropping on muttered conversations could reveal hushed mentions of the 'Echelon' project and perhaps even (though unlikely as it may not be plot-relevant) a chance encounter with a prototype of Echelon I.

Maybe Jar-Jar Binks can show up, too.

Hammich

14th Sep 2010, 14:16

I'm merely making suggestions to how there could be references to or appearances by familiar characters without it seeming forced or contrived. >.>

lay off the cynicsauce bro

Pretentious Old Man.

14th Sep 2010, 14:51

Maybe Jar-Jar Binks can show up, too.

Hey, he's a great match for the target market.

InGroove2

14th Sep 2010, 15:22

So while this is a prequel, it doesn't have to involve the events leading to the first game.

i'm gonna chime in here and say that, while i generally find your positions to be compelling in some way... i think you're off base on this one.

first, we dont know enough about the plot to really say that it doesn't correlate to the illuminati etc etc... i mean... if the head of sarif is in the illuminati, it'd be pretty lame for them to tell us that in previews. it would seriously kill the suprise. it'd be like if you KNEW Paul Denton was with the NSF bfore you get to the hangar.

second, if UNATCO is formed by the end of this game, then we know under what hand UNATCO is run. seems to me the very existence of UNATCO as a result of the events of this game indicates that all that stuff is in play... since UNATCO is setup as a kind of solution to an international propblem, only UNATCO is a front FOR the problem in DX. seems right on that the events of this game would lead to the formation of the "solution" to close HR (though we know its really the problem).

is it really necessary to have this game include the rise of bob page or something? or the politics of the illuminati or the NSF? that's actually quite boring to me. cause then you're playing a prequel in which you not only know the result, but know much of the motivations and actions within the story by virtue of the backstory which is fairly detailed in DX.

Hammich

14th Sep 2010, 15:51

Wasn't UNATCO taken over AFTER it was formed?
It might very well have changed hands, in DX there are references by characters becoming disillusioned with UNATCO describing how it used to be different.

Pretentious Old Man.

14th Sep 2010, 16:19

Wasn't UNATCO taken over AFTER it was formed?
It might very well have changed hands, in DX there are references by characters becoming disillusioned with UNATCO describing how it used to be different.

This is the worst part of DX continuity wise. "Formed by executive order after the strike on the statue". Which, you're sent to fight. Six months later. ???

Not Pacotti's finest moment.

lithos

14th Sep 2010, 16:43

This is the worst part of DX continuity wise. "Formed by executive order after the strike on the statue". Which, you're sent to fight. Six months later. ???

Not Pacotti's finest moment.

I assumed that was a different strike, and the NSF you fight in the opening were only there distract UNATCO while they made off with the Ambrosia.

EDIT: Speak of continuity, Jordan Shea must be about 70 years old...

WildcatPhoenix

14th Sep 2010, 16:44

This is the worst part of DX continuity wise. "Formed by executive order after the strike on the statue". Which, you're sent to fight. Six months later. ???

Not Pacotti's finest moment.

He's referring to the Statue of Liberty bombing, the one that blew off Lady Liberty's head and torch. That was the event leading to the formation of UNATCO.

The NSF raid on the island takes place 6 months later.

Pretentious Old Man.

14th Sep 2010, 17:03

He's referring to the Statue of Liberty bombing, the one that blew off Lady Liberty's head and torch. That was the event leading to the formation of UNATCO.

The NSF raid on the island takes place 6 months later.

Kind of comparable to an aeroplane hitting the Chrysler building in 2002, isn't it? The notion that terrorists could take over lady Liberty TWICE is quite...bizarre.

InGroove2

14th Sep 2010, 17:05

He's referring to the Statue of Liberty bombing, the one that blew off Lady Liberty's head and torch. That was the event leading to the formation of UNATCO.

The NSF raid on the island takes place 6 months later.

i dont remember the 6months, thing. seems weird that they would have the head of the statue nicely arranged with a plaque as a memorial after only 6 months.

is there a quote about how the 1st attack was 6months prior to the start of the game?

the DXWiki mentions the lack of clarity of the origins of UNATCO...

Pretentious Old Man.

14th Sep 2010, 17:08

i dont remember the 6months, thing. seems weird that they would have the head of the statue nicely arranged with a plaque as a memorial after only 6 months.

is there a quote about how the 1st attack was 6months prior to the start of the game?

the DXWiki mentions the lack of clarity of the origins of UNATCO...

At least six months, given that it's happened (recently) during the intro, which takes place six months before the main game. That, in itself, does not promote the barmaid in the Underworld, who was "ex-Unatco" despite not being at the launch of Unatco in the intro.

InGroove2

14th Sep 2010, 18:13

At least six months, given that it's happened (recently) during the intro, which takes place six months before the main game. That, in itself, does not promote the barmaid in the Underworld, who was "ex-Unatco" despite not being at the launch of Unatco in the intro.

watching the intro again, i still dont know where this 6months comes from... not that oyu're wrong. i just dont know.
(is it because of simons talking about the secondary unit being online in 6 months?)

but its clear that UNATCO may have started off altruistic, as oppose to what i thought, and the base at liberty island is where it started to get corrupt... you know... with it being built above an MJ12 site.

nevertheless.

WildcatPhoenix

14th Sep 2010, 20:11

Remember, the statue was not actually bombed by the NSF. I think it's pretty strongly implied that MJ12 was behind the bombing (remember Filben, "Ask me? I think the government did it. They want people to think the NSF are terrorists!") This was an act so shocking to the western world that it convinced them to let a multinational organization like the UN/UNATCO have jurisdiction over U.S. soil, something which the ever-xenophobic Americans would usually not permit.

So the NSF attack on Liberty Island in the first mission is really their first attempt to do so.

pringlepower

14th Sep 2010, 23:00

Remember, the statue was not actually bombed by the NSF. I think it's pretty strongly implied that MJ12 was behind the bombing (remember Filben, "Ask me? I think the government did it. They want people to think the NSF are terrorists!") This was an act so shocking to the western world that it convinced them to let a multinational organization like the UN/UNATCO have jurisdiction over U.S. soil, something which the ever-xenophobic Americans would usually not permit.

So the NSF attack on Liberty Island in the first mission is really their first attempt to do so.

If I recall correctly it was done by UNACTO, and blamed on Silhouette (who previously said it was a mistake for France to give it to the US). Perfect scapegoat.

WildcatPhoenix

14th Sep 2010, 23:30

If I recall correctly it was done by UNACTO, and blamed on Silhouette (who previously said it was a mistake for France to give it to the US). Perfect scapegoat.

The statue bombing led to the formation of UNATCO, so this doesn't quite compute. But MJ12 and UNATCO are pretty much the same organization anyway, so...just semantics.